The overall objective of the program is to examine the mechanisms underlying the inflammatory reactions in the connective tissue diseases. In the current year, we hope to study (1) the presence of helper factors for antibody synthesis in the rheumatoid joint; (2) the effect of IgG on rheumatoid factor synthesis in tissue culture of lymphocytes from patients with rheumatoid arthritis; (3) the generation of antithyroglobulin antibody by human lymphocytes in the presence of helper factors from stimulated T cells; (4) blastic transformation of SLE lymphocytes by viral antigens; (5) the effect of syngeneic cells on renal disease in NZB-NZW FI hybrid mice; (6) the subclass distribution of IgG synthesized in the rheumatoid synovial membrane.